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Serious keyboard issues - Firefox only

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If I try to enter text into firefox, the keys just cycle through the keyboard characters.

If I enter the above text in firefox I get the following:

Rt Y uio p[ ]asdf ghjk l;'` #zxcvbnm ,./ -+\1 2345 67890 -=qwert yui op[]asdf ghjkl;'`#z.

Also, repeatedly pressing the same key, say r, give the following - /-+\1234567890-=qwertyu

However, holding it down results in - 222222222222222222222222, doing it again gives - 333333333333333333333333.

This problem does not occur in any other application.

I have restarted firefox in safe mode, checked all add-ons, cleared all history, run a complete virus check & followed all fault finding options I can find, but the problem persists.

If I try to enter text into firefox, the keys just cycle through the keyboard characters. If I enter the above text in firefox I get the following: Rt Y uio p[ ]asdf ghjk l;'` #zxcvbnm ,./ -+\1 2345 67890 -=qwert yui op[]asdf ghjkl;'`#z. Also, repeatedly pressing the same key, say r, give the following - /-+\1234567890-=qwertyu However, holding it down results in - 222222222222222222222222, doing it again gives - 333333333333333333333333. This problem does not occur in any other application. I have restarted firefox in safe mode, checked all add-ons, cleared all history, run a complete virus check & followed all fault finding options I can find, but the problem persists.

All Replies (11)

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Thanks for a prompt response, but it did not solve the issue

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Does it happen only in firefox? then reinstall it

Certain Firefox problems can be solved by performing a Clean reinstall. This means you remove Firefox program files and then reinstall Firefox. Please follow these steps:

Note: You might want to print these steps or view them in another browser.

  1. Download the latest Desktop version of Firefox from http://www.mozilla.org and save the setup file to your computer.
  2. After the download finishes, close all Firefox windows (click Exit from the Firefox or File menu).
  3. Delete the Firefox installation folder, which is located in one of these locations, by default:
    • Windows:
      • C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox
      • C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox
    • Mac: Delete Firefox from the Applications folder.
    • Linux: If you installed Firefox with the distro-based package manager, you should use the same way to uninstall it - see Install Firefox on Linux. If you downloaded and installed the binary package from the Firefox download page, simply remove the folder firefox in your home directory.
  4. Now, go ahead and reinstall Firefox:
    1. Double-click the downloaded installation file and go through the steps of the installation wizard.
    2. Once the wizard is finished, choose to directly open Firefox after clicking the Finish button.

More information about reinstalling Firefox can be found here.

WARNING: Do not run Firefox's uninstaller or use a third party remover as part of this process, because that could permanently delete your Firefox data, including but not limited to, extensions, cache, cookies, bookmarks, personal settings and saved passwords. These cannot be recovered unless they have been backed up to an external device!

Please report back to see if this helped you!

Thank you.

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Done that, still got the same problem :-(

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Does it happen only in firefox?

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Yes, all other apps & programs work fine

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Already tried that option, didn't work.

However, if I use the desktop keyboard, all is well, text is entered as required

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All is now well.

There was an update from Microsoft last night & it seems to have resolved the issue.

The updates were:

1. Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool x64 - March 2014 (KB890830)

Installation date: ‎18/‎03/‎2014 20:12

Installation status: Successful

2. Definition Update for Windows Defender - KB915597 (Definition 1.169.31.0)

Installation date: ‎18/‎03/‎2014 06:24

Installation status: Successful

I can only assume that one of these resolved the issue.

Many thanks for your help.

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I had this same problem, but it occurred after the updates that the Question Owner thought fixed it. What I eventually found is that if I shut down ZoneAlarm when starting Firefox, the problem goes away, even after restarting ZoneAlarm. However, if i ever start Firefox when ZoneAlarm is running, it comes back, so I have to shut down ZoneAlarm every time I start Firefox. I am going to pursue this with ZoneAlarm support.

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This issue is likely caused by the Anti-Keylogger in ZoneAlarm, so you can disable this feature until ZoneAlarm has released an update.

  • /questions/994322 When i hit a key to type it cycles through every key on the keyboard